Redemption
by KHLostEmpress
Summary: Three years ago was The Disappearance. Two years ago they got The Truth. One year ago The Sky changed again. Now the DigiDestined can only wait for The End, seeking to restore peace to all the worlds before the last barrier is shattered and darkness covers the final world left: the Real World. The shatterpoint has come, but who will save you when the angels have already fallen?
1. The Beginning of The End

Author's Notes: So...remember when I only did one or two stories at a time? Yeah, apparently not anymore. I've decided to become *that* author that just posts whatever comes to mind and stop trying to stifle my creativity just because I want to write a certain story. (Expect two other stories up today in two other fandoms.)

So, this came about because I've always wanted to write an evil Takeru fic (uh...spoiler alert?). Don't ask me why; I have no idea what it says about me because he's always been my favorite character. If you hadn't gotten that by now. This is one of those throw you into the car and drive off cause I'll explain later sort of stories. I'll be going full on Japanese for this one, including Digimon names. Yeah, those were harder than the DD names to wrap my mind around. But I'm sure I'll get used to it. If you see any mistakes in that, let me know please. It's hard being in the middle of four Digimon stories and remembering which names I'm using for which ones.

As for pairings...I'm not sure on this one. Probably only hints at my favorite Takari, because they are only fourteen. As for the others...anyone got any suggestions? Or we could go with none. That's cool too.

Anyway, ranted enough. I hope you like it.

* * *

Quietly, Taichi Yagami crept through the wooded area, all his senses on high alert. His partner, WarGreymon, came along as quietly as the giant mecha dinosaur could. But they had no choice; it was too dangerous for them to come without being at full power at all times. It was for that reason that Taichi had forbidden all the others besides Yamato from coming anymore. Gennai would prefer if they didn't come at all, but the digital man's opinion had lost all sway over Taichi when, two years ago, he revealed how he'd lied to them for so long.

Though, it was true enough that Taichi wouldn't allow himself or Yamato back here again either, if they didn't have to search.

"Taichi," WarGreymon growled softly in warning.

"I see it," Taichi replied. A tendril of darkness was creeping out from between two trees a few yards from where they stood. Experience told Taichi they would be safe enough for the time being, but that they shouldn't linger. His Digivice would be able to ward off the darkness for a time, but they couldn't afford to draw attention to themselves. They'd been lucky enough not to encounter anyone this time.

As much it pained him to admit it, there was nothing he could do except continue the search. Taichi _hated_ this helpless feeling. And now that it was him and Yamato searching alone for the past six months since he'd given the order, the chances of them finding them had dropped dramatically. But he couldn't just do _nothing_. Searching every day was the only option they had left. They couldn't go to the Dark World for any kind of frontal assault. Koushiro had been trying to find a way in for three years now, and Taichi was convinced that if his genius friend couldn't find a way in that time then it was impossible. Nor had the enemy, whoever or whatever that was, revealed themselves yet. No, they had no way to combat this slow deterioration of the Digital World. All they had was the search.

"Taichi Yagami, Guardian of Courage, Leader of the so-called Chosen Children." The voice came from the same darkness that was still slowly crawling out along the forest floor. It was strange because it sounded like two voices speaking together: one of a young man overlaid by a deeper and darker voice.

Instantly, Taichi was on edge and moved his body into a defensive stance, halfway turned with his arm slightly up in front of him. He could feel his muscles tightening and tensing up. WarGreymon, at the same moment, came between his partner and the voice, leaving barely enough room for Taichi to see beyond him. His Digimon partner also looked ready to fight at a moment's notice with his claw-armored hands up in front of him. "Who's there?" WarGreymon growled. "Show yourself."

They had a right to be wary. It had been a long time since they had encountered anyone who could still recognize who they were. Longer still since they ran into someone capable of sane speech. His eyes narrowed as a figure appeared, just enough for him to make out the shape of it. Taichi cocked his head to the side. The figure was definitely smaller than him and human shaped. And not in the way that some Digimon were humanoid. This was like an actual human _being_. But he knew he was the only human in the Digital World. So he didn't know who it could possibly be, unless…

As his mind finally caught up with what he was seeing, Taichi's eyes widened, and he could feel his heart begin to pound in his chest. His body relaxed the tension in his muscles as he straightened. "...Takeru?" he asked. His voice trembled slightly as he spoke the name. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught WarGreymon's brief glance back at him in shock.

"Don't bother," the figure replied, still in that strange two-toned voice. He stepped closer as he spoke. "He's dead." Taichi tried not to think of what that meant as, finally, he came fully out of the darkness, and Taichi got his first look at Yamato's younger brother in three years. And he tensed again as he wondered how he was going to tell his best friend.

For not only was he worried about what the boy had said, Taichi knew instantly that this was not the Takeru Takaishi he'd known. He was recognizable to be sure; a little taller and older looking that Taichi remembered, but that was only to be expected after three years. The familiar mop of blond hair was the same as ever, but that was where all the similarities ended.

His entire ensemble, though nothing fancy, was black, a color Taichi had not seen the young man wear with great frequency. His skin was a paler white than before; his face, usually so full of expression, now empty and blank. But the most obvious change was his eyes. No longer were they the bright blue he'd known, but now they were a blood red. Taichi was so shocked by his appearance that he was struck speechless. "We merely thought to return something to you," the not-Takeru continued.

Out of the darkness behind him, tendrils of darkness reached into the space between them. Taichi slid back a step, and WarGreymon shifted his stance as well. They were moving quicker than he'd ever seen before. But they stopped about halfway between them and coalesced into a long dome shape, probably more than twice as long as it was wide. Suddenly, it occurred to Taichi that it was just the right size for a person to fit under, and the words the boy had spoken moments before ran across his mind again. Because there was only one thing, _one person_, they were still missing. His heart stopped as the dome dissipated, and the darkness retreated back beyond Takeru again. "Hikari." Her name breathed through his lips, and he found himself taking a step forward before he thought about it.

His way was blocked by WarGreymon as his partner abruptly put himself directly in his path. "Taichi, wait," WarGreymon said. For a moment, he was annoyed that his partner would stop him, but then he looked into his green eyes and understood. The Digimon could be rational as Taichi had never been when it came to his little sister. But WarGreymon was right; he could read in his eyes the thought that this could be a trap.

He gritted his teeth in frustration because, if it was Hikari before him and not some trick or illusion, she looked in worse shape than he'd ever seen her. Her clothes were the same ones she'd been wearing when she disappeared three years ago, albeit now they were too small and tattered. She looked far too fragile, clearly unconscious, thin and bony, skin sallow and cheeks sunken. There were dark black marks wrapped around her arms and legs, and her feet were completely bare. Hikari looked worse than that time she'd almost died from pneumonia. In fact, she looked dead.

Unable to hold back as that thought struck his mind, Taichi placed his hand on WarGreymon's arm and then stepped past him towards his sister. His partner came alongside him. After two steps and no reaction from the Takeru look alike, Taichi lengthened and quickened his stride until he was close enough to kneel at her side. The Drs. Kido had insisted they all learn the basics of first aid, so Taichi felt for her pulse. Sagging in relief when he found it (though it was a little too faint for his liking), he felt for her breath just to be sure and was glad to find she was breathing. This _was_ his sister. He had Hikari back.

Narrowing his eyes, Taichi's gaze found the boy in front of him again. If he had any doubt that this was not Takeru, it was eliminated at the sight of what state his sister was in. Taichi was sure in the knowledge that Takeru would have _died_ before he allowed this to happen to her. And he certainly wouldn't just stand there with blank indifference. "Who are you?" Taichi asked.

The mask of indifference disappeared as the boy's lip curled upward. But not into any sort of semblance of a smile or even the smirk so reminiscent of his older brother that Taichi had caught on his face a couple of times. No, it was a sneer accompanied by a haughty glint in his eyes that broke through the blankness. A look that Taichi decided instantly he neither liked nor wanted to see on the younger boy's face. "Does it matter?" he goaded. It reminded him too much of Ken in his Kaiser days.

"Of course, it matters," Taichi bit out in retort, glaring hotly at him. "You're not Takeru." And he needed to know what had happened to the boy.

Folding his arms across his chest, the boy's sneer morphed into an arrogant, smug smirk that held none of the warmth or teasing behind a usual Ishida smirk. "No, we are not the Guardian of Hope," he replied. A feral, triumphant gleam entered his eyes that almost had Taichi flinching back. "We defeated that sorry excuse for a Chosen." But Taichi latched onto what was left unsaid there. To be defeated, one had to fight back and, considering the state he'd been told Takeru had been in when he disappeared, that was amazing. Suddenly, he was reminded of the eight year old boy he'd been ready to storm the castle to save (though it was more of a giant demented playhouse) only to find the boy had saved himself.

His sister attracted his gaze once more, and the state she was in. A rush of pride and gratitude surged through him as he wondered if this could have been the reason he caved at last. Then, his brows furrowed in confusion as he realized he was getting his sister back. The DigiDestined would now be stronger with her on their side again. It made no sense to return her. "Why are you doing this? Why give her back?" he demanded.

"We think having her with the other Chosen will make things...interesting," he replied, as if he was so sure of his victory that it would be boring otherwise. As he spoke, he extended his hand out to the side. Another tendril of darkness came from behind him and formed into a shape under his clenched fist. Moments later, it changed into a black drawstring bag that he tossed in their direction. It landed near Hikari's side with a thump and the resulting small clangs indicated that there was more than one object inside.

Suddenly, all trace of smirks or sneers disappeared from his expression. Instead, a look of deadly seriousness replaced it; a look so fierce that a chill ran down his spine. Taichi finally understood what he'd never been able to wrap his mind around since Ken had told them. Takeru could be _terrifying_. "Be on your guard, Chosen. We will begin soon." With those ominous words, the boy that was not Takeru turned and began to walk back into the darkness.

As the boy began to get swallowed by the black, it occurred to Taichi that he'd completely forgotten to tell him. They'd all agreed that it would be the first thing they said to the boy if any of them encountered him. And even though it was clear that it was not exactly the boy he knew, he had to hope that he would hear him anyway. "Wait, Takeru!" he called, coming to his feet hastily. "Patamon is…" he trailed off as he realized it was too late. The boy had already disappeared. Taichi sighed heavily, livid at himself for forgetting so easily.

But he steeled himself, knowing that for now he had to focus on Hikari. Even Yamato would understand that. He bent down and grabbed the black drawstring bag. Opening it, he found a green D-3, a pink D-3, two D-Terminals, and the camera Hikari used to wear around her neck. Even though he knew he still had his moments where he was pretty thick, no one had to tell him the symbolism of that. His mouth turned down into a grim line as he drew the bag close and tied it to a belt loop on his pants. "Let's get back to Headquarters," he said.

Then, he cradled his sister in his arms as he lifted her up off the ground. Alarmed by how light she was and fragile she felt, Taichi wasted no time in getting back to the gate, no longer bothering to hide his footsteps. WarGreymon tromped behind him, but again they were lucky enough to have no encounters.

Exiting the Digital World, they arrived in what Koushiro had dubbed the Gate Room; WarGreymon once again back down to Koromon. Monitors and computers lined the walls of the room, half of which Taichi had no idea what the information on them meant. Koushiro, who had been sitting on a chair in front of one of the monitors with Mochimon at his side, came to his feet as the trio appeared. The redhead spent most of his spare moments in this room. Andromon was beside him, wires connected to some other computer; the Digimon only called out a monotone welcome from where he stood.

Koushiro's steps slowed as he and Mochimon came closer. "Taichi, is that—"

"Koushiro," Taichi interrupted holding out his hand. Perhaps it was a sign that they'd all been doing this for too _flipping_ long that Koushiro immediately shut up. Without another word needed, he reached beside him and grabbed the intercom off the console and handed it to him, following his unspoken order. Taichi set down his sister's legs but kept her head cradled against his chest as he spoke into the intercom. "Infirmary, this is Courage." Koushiro had insisted on the code names in case anyone intercepted any of their transmissions. The DigiDestined had mostly cut themselves off from the rest of the world for a reason, and they wanted to keep it that way. With the Digital Barrier around Headquarters full time, it should be impossible to find them, but there was always room for caution.

He continued, "I need immediate assistance in the Gate Room." Taichi paused, looking down at the girl in his arms, still hardly believing it himself. "I brought back Light from the D World. She...she looks bad," he broke off from the near military speech they'd developed since starting to live here. Remembering again how she looked like she was dead, lying there on the ground. "Chosen to the Conference Room for immediate debrief."

When he handed the intercom back to Koushiro, he said to him, "Go on. I'll join you as soon as I see Hikari to the Infirmary." Now that he had her back, Taichi wasn't about to let her out of his sight until he knew she was okay.

Of course, Koushiro understood it all, both that which was said and that which wasn't. He only scooped up Mochimon in his arms and nodded his agreement before turning briefly back to Andromon. "Alert me if there is anything."

"Affirmative."

As Koushiro and Mochimon left the room, Jyou's mother, Dr. Mizuki Kido, and his older brother, Shin, arrived rolling a stretcher between them. Taichi was not surprised by their quick arrival; they'd all had a hand in designing Headquarters, and Jyou had pointed out that having the Infirmary next to the Gate Room made the most sense as most injuries were bound to happen in the Digital World. Picking up Koromon, he followed them after they laid Hikari on the stretcher. Tailmon was waiting at the door when they arrived, her great blue eyes shining with unshed tears. They all stayed out of the way as the doctors moved her onto one of the beds. Nothing was said as Tailmon hopped onto the end of the bed where her human partner lay. It was likely she'd come from the Shrine, as she spent much of her time there and it wasn't far from the Infirmary either.

Taichi could only watch as the doctors began to hook his sister up to various things. "Let's get the IV in her," Mizuki ordered, as she put the heart monitor on her finger and an oxygen tube around her face and in her nose. Shin nodded and wheeled over a hook and bag. "I think it's most important to get her hydrated and get some nutrients in her first."

"Dr. Kido," Taichi said, looking away as Shin stuck a needle in his sister's arm to prepare for the IV. And she stopped and turned to him, following the command in his voice. It struck Taichi, as it sometimes did, with the thought and wonder of when exactly he, a teenager who hadn't even graduated _high school_ yet, had really become the leader of this entire complex of people and Digimon, rather than just the DigiDestined. His own _parents_ followed his orders now. Pushing those thoughts aside, Taichi focused on the task at hand. "What can you tell me?"

The doctor sighed and looked back at her patient. "Only what I can see on the surface at the moment," she told him. "She's probably severely underweight and suffering from dehydration and various nutrient deficiencies. Those bruises on her arms and legs look particularly nasty, too." As each word was spoken, Taichi felt his heart drop further and further in his chest. He did not miss how Tailmon's ears drooped down as well even though her gaze did not leave Hikari. He knew she was hearing every word. "But," Mizuki added and Taichi perked up at that word. She turned back to him. "All of those things can be treated with time and proper care. I hesitate to promise anything, but unless I find something more serious, I think she'll pull through just fine."

A great rumble of relief rolled through him. He wanted nothing more than to stay at her side until she woke up, yet he knew that the others were waiting for him. And out of all of them, Taichi had to tell Yamato what had happened. Hurried, pounding footsteps sounded in the hallway, drawing him to turn around and look at the doorway, just as his mother, Yuuko, came barreling around the door frame, breathing heavily. She paused, one hand gripping the doorway and the other pressed flat against her chest, as she gazed at the scene wide-eyed. But the pause was only for a second before she came fully into the Infirmary.

Before she passed him to go to her daughter, Yuuko reached out and wrapped her arms around Taichi, eliciting a muffled protest from Koromon, who was still nestled in his arms. Taichi had grown taller than his mother, thought he still had yet to match his father's height. "Thank you," Yuuko whispered in his ear, and she pressed a kiss to his cheek. He flushed in embarrassment but didn't even try to push her away. Yuuko had not taken to her daughter's disappearance well. Lingering a moment longer, he heard Mizuki give Yuuko the beginnings of the explanation she'd given him. With Tailmon and his mother to look after her now, Taichi was less worried to leave her.

The Conference Room was in the same part of the complex as the Gate Room and the Infirmary (called the Business Quarter by their fathers and the name sort of stuck), so it didn't take long for him and Koromon to reach it. The din of conversation he'd heard as he had been approaching cut off when he opened the door and stepped into the room. Eighteen pairs of eyes trained their gazes on him, some more heavily than others. A quick cursory glance around the room told him everyone had arrived. His seat at the head of the long oval table was empty and waiting for him. Originally, Taichi had wanted a round table to give them more of an equality look and feeling, but Yamato had talked him out of it. His friend had said that they understood his sentiment, but an oval table was more practical and simply took up less room.

Around the table, there were twelve chairs, one for each DigiDestined. On the far wall directly in front of his seat was a screen for the projector on the ceiling, and a box that folded out into a small shelf where Koushiro could hook up his computer if necessary. The other three walls of the room were lined in chairs, in case anyone else besides the Digidestined was at their meetings. Besides his own, two of the chairs around the table were also empty. All of them had agreed for that reminder of why they were there.

The silence of the room remained as Taichi walked to his seat. He pulled out his chair and moved in front of it but did not sit down, though he did set Koromon on the table in front of him. All of their Digimon typically remained in their second Baby forms while in the Real World, simply because they took up less room that way. Not to mention it was easier to fit them all in the Conference Room and the Residential Block.

Just then, he didn't know quite where to begin, so he took a moment to just survey his group. Yamato sat on his right with Sora next to him. The two empty chairs followed with Iori seated after that. Daisuke was next, seated directly across from him at the other head of the table. On his left, starting from himself and going to Daisuke, were Koushiro, Mimi, Jyou, Miyako, and Ken. All of their Digimon sat on the table in front of their human partners. For the first time in a while, expressions that were almost hopeful showed on many faces. Taichi struggled with how to begin, unwilling to have to tell them everything. Telling them about Hikari was easy; the fact that she was back with them was cause for celebration. It was telling them about Takeru that would be difficult.

"_Don't bother. He's dead."_

"_No, we are not the Guardian of Hope. We defeated that sorry excuse for a Chosen."_

"_Be on your guard, Chosen. We will begin soon."_

A cold feeling of dread slid through Taichi, and he locked gazes with Yamato. In response, his best friend narrowed his eyes, and Taichi knew Yamato had figured out something was up. But, his eyes moved past him as Sora spoke, breaking the silence. "Did you really find her?"

"Yes," Taichi replied, actually grateful for a question to answer. Around the table, a great sigh seemed to run through the group accompanied by a couple murmurs of relief. Some smiles even cracked out a quite a few faces.

In his high voice, Koromon piped up. "Yeah, we did. She didn't look too good, though. She looked like she'd been...what's that word, Taichi?"

"Tortured."

Dead silence fell in the room as all eyes landed on Koushiro. "What?" Mimi choked out in a breathless whisper. She looked on the verge of tears, and she was not the only one. The rest had looks of varying amounts of shock and disbelief.

Koushiro, however, had not wavered in his locked gaze with Taichi. "She looked like she'd been tortured," the redhead stated flatly. And Taichi could not disagree with him.

From the far end of the table, Daisuke asked, "Is she really that bad?"

All eyes returned to Taichi for his answer. He had to nod because it was the truth. Briefly, he gave a quick description of how she looked when he found her. "But Jyou's mom said she'd be okay," Koromon added helpfully. The somber silence returned as everyone contemplated their friend's state, perhaps wondering in what condition they would find their other missing member.

"And?"

The tersely spoken question from Yamato needed no more elaboration. For a moment, Taichi closed his eyes to brace himself. The time had arrived for him to tell his best friend. "And Takeru was the one who handed her to me," he replied as he opened his eyes again to look at Yamato. He could see the blonde's mind working, figuring out what he meant by that. As the two friends stared silently at each other, the room around them erupted into questions as almost everyone started asking at once.

By far one of the loudest of the group, Daisuke roared above the cacophonous, "Oi! Everyone shut up and let Taichi explain." It helped that he rose to his feet and slammed his hands on the table, eliciting a squeak out of Chibimon, whose tail he just barely missed hitting. It took a few moments, but everyone did stop talking and returned their attention to Taichi. Daisuke gave him a nod before sitting down himself again.

On the other hand, Taichi was trying to figure out exactly how to explain it. "I mean," he began. "It was Takeru but at the same time, it wasn't." A bunch of blank looks met him at that. "It was like…" He suddenly snapped his fingers and turned to Yamato as an idea occurred to him. "Do you remember that fight we had?"

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific than that," Yamato said after a moment. There was a small smirk playing on his lips.

"Puppetmon."

While the younger generation looked completely blank, those that had been there had realization dawn in their eyes, one by one. There had never really been a moment when the older generation had told their entire story to them. They only knew the brief overview. "Uh...someone's going to have to explain that," Miyako said at last. "What do the Dark Masters have to do with anything?"

Koushiro, who could always pull out an explanation at the drop of a hat, was the one who answered. "During our battle with Puppetmon, Taichi and Yamato had a difference of opinion." Taichi almost snorted at Koushiro's description of WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon (not to mention the boys themselves) duking it out. "As it was happening, Hikari was...possessed, for lack of a better word, by a spirit of the Digital World and showed us how we'd been chosen to become DigiDestined." After he said that, his dark eyes moved back to Taichi. "I assume something of a similar nature has happened to Takeru."

Grateful as he always was to have Koushiro on his team, Taich nodded his agreement. "Yeah...except Hikari had a spirit of light in her. I don't think he does. And before you ask how I know, the thing inside him was giving him this weird two-toned voice, and it told me he wasn't Takeru. The red eyes were kind of a dead giveaway, too."

"His eyes were _red_?!" Usually quiet, partially due to his nature and partially because he was the youngest, the incredulous, almost panicked disbelieving outburst from Iori gave Taich a small start. The kid looked practically stricken, as did Miyako and Daisuke and their partners. Most of the rest had varying degrees of the same, but more grim acceptance played on the older generation. And Taichi was reminded again of the wide experience gap between them.

Two of the Digidestined stood out by having completely different reactions from the rest. Yamato, he expected; the older brother was gripping the arms of his chair with white knuckles and looked lethally angry, ready to storm into the Dark World to rescue Takeru by any means necessary. The other surprised him, though it probably shouldn't have. Ken looked somewhere between understanding, resignation, and regretful, as his eyes were trained on the table before him. He, more than the rest of them, knew what it was like to be on the other side. Though his days as the Kaiser were long forgiven, they unfortunately could not be forgotten. Not that anyone really blamed him. A kid, alone and vulnerable, had no chance against the influence of the Dark World. There was a reason that there were so many of them. The DigiDestined needed each other. And Ken was just another reason Taichi was still very much unimpressed with Gennai.

"So, unlike the time with Hikari, you think that this is some kind of spirit of darkness that has possessed Takeru," Koushiro inquired. Taichi could already see it in his eyes; the wheels in his head were turning and analyzing the situation, trying to come up with possible solutions. Sometimes, Taichi had to wonder how he could think so much all the time without frying out his brain every other day. Then again, he supposed that was why Koushiro had been chosen for the crest of Knowledge and not him.

The leader could only shrug in answer to Koushiro's explanation as again the not Takeru's words fluttered across his mind again. _Don't bother. He's dead._ A part of him thought that he should tell everyone about it, but he'd already decided to keep it to himself. They didn't need that kind of despair on them now. As the leader, he would shoulder the burden of this knowledge himself. Besides, he refused to believe it; it was _not_ too late for Takeru. "I'm not sure, but at least something like that. _Someone_ is using him. And one last thing, guys," he added, and he could see them all tense at his words. They'd been at this too long not to always expect the worst. It was times like this that Taichi missed Takeru's almost unwavering optimism the most. Taichi continued, "He gave me a warning. Told me to be on guard because they will begin soon."

"Who?" Mimi asked with the tiniest tremble in her voice.

"And begin what exactly?" Jyou added.

Again, Taichi shrugged, unsure what the exact answer was. "I don't know," he said. "But I think this might be it. The end we've been waiting for."

* * *

_Author's Notes: Well, ominous words from our leader. I'm still not sure whether I want to do the past in flashbacks and just go from here or go ahead and go all the way back now and return to this point. I could go either way. What do you guys think?_


	2. The Towers Appear

Author's Notes: Yes, I know. At last! is what you are all thinking. Most of you wanted me to just keep going from where we left off, so that's what I'm doing. Just know that you voted for being confused for a very long time.

And I think I forgot to mention that this is AU from around the time Ken stops being Digimon Emperor. Pretty much the whole second half of the second season did not happen. That's because an event happened around that time that changed everything into this universe/timeline/thing.

One last thing, I'm giving up on the whole Japanese Digimon names. I have too many stories with too many names to keep straight already that I'm not going to make myself do it. (Okay, I'll be honest. I like MagnaAngemon better than HolyAngemon and that is really the sole reason I'm changing back. What can I say, it's pretty petty but he is my favorite Digimon.)

* * *

The screen on the wall across from Taichi blinked to life, drawing the attention of everyone in the room and interrupting anything anyone might have said to that. As expected, the image of Andromon appeared. He was the only one outside this room who really had any idea how to run the technical aspects of things. Not to mention that he was also the only one who could remote access the terminal from the Gate Room. So many things had become possible to them after they rescued Andromon. Things like firewalls and passwords really just meant nothing to the Android Digimon. Koushiro was a whiz whose knowledge seemed to grow each day, which was only appropriate, but even he could not manage all the things that Andromon did. "Digidestined, something has happened in the Digital World," intoned Andromon. The monotone voice of the Digimon belied the power he held; power that had once allowed him to go toe to toe with Piedmon for a few essential minutes.

In response, Koushiro came to his feet, immediately in his element. "Do you need me to come to the Gate Room or can you show us here?" he asked. He hadn't moved from his spot, but he did look at Taichi for a moment, eyes asking silent permission. Taichi gave him a single, short nod that he knew Koushiro would interpret correctly as his indication that Koushiro could leave if he needed to because Taichi had told them all he needed to say.

However, that became unnecessary as Andromon said, "I will transfer the data." A few moments later, his image moved to a corner of the screen, and something else was displayed: a spinning globe. Taichi knew it was not Earth as the shapes of the continents were all wrong. This was an image he'd first seen as a hologram many years ago, back in the Etemon days. It was also one of the permanent features on one of the monitors in the Gate Room. But there was something different about it since the last time he'd seen it that Taichi couldn't quite place. Then again, it was only during crossovers that he spent any extensive amount of time in the Gate Room to begin with. Monitoring the Digital World was a mantle that Andromon and Koushiro had taken up, so Taichi just waited for the explanation of what was troubling the Digimon.

"Wait...but…" Surprisingly, it was Ken who had spoken first. The other resident genius seemed to have picked up on whatever Andromon wanted to show them. Uncertainly, he turned to the redhead down the table. "Koushiro?"

"I see it," Koushiro said, eyes narrowed in assessment. Taichi could actually see the lightning fast calculations in his eyes as he analyzed whatever data he was seeing on the screen.

But he didn't immediately say anything after that, and a second was apparently only as long as Daisuke was willing to wait. "Well, are you going to explain it to the rest of us?" he blurted out, slamming his hand down on the table, just narrowly missing DemiVeemon's tail once again. They had a long since given up trying to get him to stop that habit. As the screen was directly behind him, both he and Iori had scooted their chairs closer to the empty chairs, so that he could turn to see better. Daisuke swung his arm wide, encompassing the screen in his arch. "Cause I haven't got a clue what I'm supposed to be looking at."

Pushing his chair back, Koushiro walked the length of the room to approach the screen. Motimon hopped off the table to follow his partner. "This is our Digital World monitor. It tells us what's going on there in the vaguest sense." Taichi knew that everyone in the room already knew this. But Koushiro was in what Taichi termed his "lecture mode". Any interruption at this point might actually just cause him to go into unaffiliated tangents, so the Digidestined and Digimon had learned to just let him speak. Only if he got too far off the point did they step in to move him back into the real explanation. "At the moment, we mostly use it to track the spread of darkness, similar to what we did with the Dark Spires. It's how we've known where it was relatively safe to send Taichi and Yamato out to search. The darkness has been slowly spreading since Takeru and Hikari disappeared, increasingly more so in the past year." Left unsaid was the truth that things had been getting steadily worse in the last year since the Digital World had appeared in the sky, just like it had all those years ago when the Dark Masters reigned. They still had no explanation as to why exactly this had happened, even if they were experiencing the consequences of it. "But…" he trailed off, resting his hand on his chin, lost in thought again.

When a few seconds passed with nothing else from Koushiro, the Digidestined glanced around at each other. Taichi locked gazes with Sora, inclining his head toward Koushiro, silently volunteering her to prod the younger boy into finishing his explanation. Sora rolled her eyes, but her voice was gentle when she spoke, "But what?"

Yet, Koushiro did not answer right away. "It's gone," Ken quietly commented, after another few moments of silence had passed, his eyes glued to the screen. Taichi was reminded that he too had noticed what Andromon was trying to show them. "The darkness...it's just gone." Ken tentatively scanned the room as he finished speaking, almost flinching as if he expected an outburst to his words.

It was a hush that fell on the room. Realization rushed through Taichi as he looked at the globe of the Digital World. That was what was different about it. All the black that indicated to them where the darkness had spread was gone, as Ken said. He probably should be worried at how quickly and easily he quenched any of the hope he might have felt at this news. Three years of things going only from bad to worse had surely taught him that even seemingly good news was not always so. "What does that mean?" Blunt as always, Bukamon voiced the question they were all thinking.

This time, Koushiro did provide the answer to the question. "Well, what Ken said is not entirely accurate. You can still see some pockets of darkness left. Andromon, what happened exactly?"

"Approximately six point two minutes ago, all darkness in the Digital World converged into these seven areas." On the image, seven red dots appeared on the globe, spread out around the world across all the continents. "The concentration of darkness is equivalent to the amount prior to this event. Levels are increasing at the same pace."

Because Koushiro looked alarmed at this news, Taichi felt the same, even if he wasn't always able to follow Andromon's speech pattern and vocabulary. Before he even asked for an explanation, he was provided a semblance of one from Motimon. "Are you saying that these seven spots have the same amount of darkness as the whole world used to?"

"Affirmative," Andromon confirmed.

"Is there any way you can show us what is happening in these spots?" Koushiro asked. In answer, seven images popped up on the screen. At first, Taichi thought there might be some sort of glitch as they appeared to all be the same thing. "Each spot has one of these towers?"

"Correct."

"What are they?" Miyako asked.

"I...I don't know," Koushiro admitted. He looked down at his small partner. "Motimon?" For all they've learned since their adventures first began, especially Koushiro, sometimes the Digimon still knew more about their world that they hadn't yet shared.

The little pink Digimon just shrugged his shoulders before he answered. "Sorry, Koushiro. I've never seen them before." Without prompting, the rest of the Digimon echoed Motimon's sentiment, including Andromon.

There was one more source of information they could call upon, but Taichi was reluctant to do so, even as Koushiro looked to him in silent question. The matter of either one of them mentioning it out loud was taken out of their hands by the blond on Taichi's right. "Taichi, we need to call Gennai." The words came firmly from Yamato, and Taichi could not stop the grimace that appeared at the mention of the digital man. Two years was not nearly long enough for him to lose his resentment against him. In fact, even if some of the anger had abated at Hikari's return, Taichi knew that some part of him would probably be angry with Gennai until the day they got Takeru back. Because he couldn't very well be angry at Hikari and Takeru for being just that special that they became targets.

From the table in front of him, Mormon piped up with his opinion. "He does know more about the Digital World than anybody else."

As much as he was at odds with the man, he knew they were right. If anyone was going to know what those towers were, it would be Gennai. "Call him up, Andromon." Connected as he was to every bit of technology at Headquarters, Andromon could locate and relay the message to Gennai faster than anyone else.

Only a few minutes passed before the door opened, and Gennai walked in. No longer the old man as in years past, Gennai looked as he had during the vision they'd seen of Piedmont's attack on their partners before they'd even been hatched. Koushiro briefly explained the situation, and Gennai's eyes were glued to the screen that still displayed the Digital World and the seven towers. "Then it's just as I thought," the man said quietly, as Koushiro finished his explanation, but it carried so everyone heard. Taichi bristled at the words, wary of anything the man said since he'd finally told them the truth two years ago.

"Keeping something else from us, Gennai?" Yamato gritted out, reminding Taichi that his best friend had just as much right to resent him as Taichi did. Even if he was the one to suggest calling the man here. After all, it was partly his fault that Takeru and Hikari had disappeared in the first place.

Gennai shook his head, but his eyes did not leave the screen as he answered Yamato's accusation. "Merely a suspicion I had after Takeru and Hikari disappeared. Well, I say disappeared, but we can say kidnapped, I believe now." Taichi almost yelled at the man to get to the point already. It wasn't like it hadn't been abundantly clear to him that the two had been kidnapped. Staring into the red eyes of what had become of the little brother he'd never had had sent chills through him that he didn't like to think about. Before he could say anything, Gennai continued to speak. "I had no confirmation. In any case, these are the Towers of the Seven Deadly Sins." This answer, however, still meant little to him.

Apparently, he was not the only one confused by it. "The seven deadly sins?" Mimi repeated.

"You mean, like pride, greed, wrath, _those_ deadly sins?" Jyou asked. That clarified things a little bit more but Taichi still didn't really know what this all meant for them and the worlds they protected. Though he was reminded of the hour of the beast stuff from when they were fighting Myotismon.

"Yes, exactly. In this case, each sin corresponds to a Digimon. The seven Great Demon Lords, to be exact."

This time, gasps of understanding rose from the Digimon around the room. Taichi didn't have to know who they were exactly to know "Great Demon Lord" didn't sound promising. "So, we just have to beat these guys to get Takeru back and fix everything back to normal, right?" Daisuke asked. The young soccer player could always be counted on to put things into the simplest form. But Taichi knew that it would be far from that easy to actually do. Or else they wouldn't have gone through all they had these last few years. Yet, Taichi knew they would do it. It was what they were born to do. What the Digital World had made them into.

"Oh, but you can't." Gennai's words brought an abrupt end to his thoughts. Never before had he told them they couldn't do something. He may have lied to them, but he had always before told them that be believed in them or at least gave them the information they needed to win.

Exchanging glances first with his best friend beside him and then with Koushiro across the room, he could tell that they understood what Gennai was saying and were as shocked as he to hear him say it. But it seemed almost incomprehensible that there could be something they could not eventually overcome. "Can't what?" Miyako asked blankly.

"Defeat them," Gennai clarified. Silence descended on the room as everyone caught the full meaning of his words. Then, as if a dam had broken, multiple voices broke out around the room, speaking protests over one another. Gennai cut them off with a wave of his hand. "Tell me. Do you remember Apocalymon? The Dark Masters?"

"Kind of hard to forget," Bukamon threw out sarcastically.

Finally, Gennai turned from the images on the screen, piercing each of them in his gaze. The seriousness in his expression Taichi had not seen since that day two years ago when Gennai had explained to them what the Digital World had done to them five years ago. "Each Demon Lord has power equal or greater to that of Apocalymon. It took all eight of you to defeat these threats. Even then, it was close. Very close."

"But we won," Yokomon pointed out. "We beat them." The little Digimon looked around the room, eyes darting to everyone as if she searched for validation.

"Yeah," Koushiro said in that way that he did when he caught the point most everyone else missed. "The eight of us did." And Taichi suddenly understood the meaning behind the words. The eight of them had defeated Apocalymon. But they only had six of them right now. Even with Hikari back, there was no telling how long it would take for her to recover. It had been close (Taichi shuddered in thinking how close) with the eight of them, so it would probably be next to impossible with only six of the original remaining.

Taichi's gaze was drawn to Gennai when the man began to speak to him. "Tell me, Taichi, who do you think they targeted Takeru first? Even in the Demon Lords there is a hierarchy. I will admit you could probably defeat most of them, especially now that they have returned Hikari to us, if you _all_ accessed the Mega Digivolution of your respective partners. But to defeat the greatest of Demon Lords, we would need the highest of Angels. And there is only one line that can attain that. So, they made sure to neutralize him in the very beginning." It was a variation of things they'd all heard before, but it really struck Taichi hard to have it put in context of this new threat. That these Demon Lords had been planning this for so long really worried him. But some part of him was immensely proud, for it was clear now that Hikari and Takeru had been fighting this battle alone for the past three years. That things had only really started to get very bad in the last year spoke volumes of the young teens' strength.

Beside him, Yamato scoffed. His posture in his chair was laid back and nonchalant, but his knuckles were white where he gripped his chair. "So what are you saying? We should just give up because there's no hope winning?" Taichi could hardly blame the blond for his words. Gennai wasn't exactly very forthcoming with encouraging words at the moment or with any sort of plan for them to take them out.

A small, secretive smile tugged upward on the corner of Gennai's lip. "Oh, there is hope. As long as Takeru lives, there will always be hope. We must simply rescue him first before we try to defeat Lucemon." Yamato abruptly turned his gaze away, but Taichi saw his eyes flash and his clenched jaw. His friend was very angry.

_Don't bother. He's dead_.

Taichi felt the slice of dread as those words ran across his mind once more. He didn't want to believe it could be true, and he definitely still didn't want to tell everyone about it. Not if it didn't turn out to be true. But now he had to wonder what he would do, what they would do, if it did turn out to be true. "So, what do we do?" DemiVeemon asked in a small quaky voice.

"You need to gain your Mega Digivolutions. Well, those that can." The response was stated flatly, as if that would be so simple. Experience told Taichi that it would probably be anything but that.

Clearly, he was not the only one to think so as Mimi folded her arms across her chest and snapped out, "And how are we supposed to do that? Last time, Angemon and Angewomon shot the boys with arrows. Obviously, that option is not available to us." Which, as it always was when Mimi spoke, was the absolute truth. Even if they had Hikari back, there was really no telling how long it would take for her to recover. As for Takeru and Patamon...Mimi was right. Neither was an option at the moment. And Taichi knew of no other way for them to gain that level.

"It is my opinion that the potential was unlocked the moment the Digital World made the eight of you what you are. We only have to find the right trigger to activate them."

"And in the meantime, what?" Yamato spat out. "Are we just supposed to sit around waiting for the right trigger to magically appear, while these Demon Lords wreck havoc?"

"There's no other choice. Their towers are up, the barriers hang by a thread, and _they_ have Takeru. In their perspective, they've _already_ won."

An alarm began blaring around the room, cutting off anything that anyone else might have said to that. This time, Koushiro didn't even ask. He scooped up Motimon on his way to the door and was gone almost before anyone else could process what happened. Gennai, the other one standing near the door, was close behind. The sound of chairs scraping across the floor followed as everyone grabbed their Digimon and left the room to go after them. Taichi arrived in the Gate Room just as Koushiro slid into one of the chairs. With practiced ease, Ken, Miyako, and Iori moved into the room and took the three remaining chairs, all analyzing the data on the screens in front of them. "It's Singapore," Miyako called out.

"Yamato, take Mimi and go. Sora, follow behind with Jyou," Taichi ordered. Without any other words needed, the four he named moved to the lockers along one side of the room. Each pulled out the black jacket, hat, and dark sunglasses that rested inside.

The disguises were the idea of Daisuke, who'd only really said it as a joke, but then Yamato's dad, Hiroaki, said that it would be a good way to keep their anonymity. The reporter reminded them how lucky they'd already been not to be caught that first time around, not to mention using the _school's computer lab_ the second time. So, since the crossovers started about a year ago, they all wore them to help keep other people from finding out who they were. "The last thing we need is the government of any country finding out who you are," Hiroaki had said.

While they put the outfits on, Gennai came up to him. "You're sending _four_ of them?" Gennai asked. Taichi ignored him as he watched his friends gear up to go, hoping that if he didn't say anything than the digital man would get the hint and leave him alone. Unfortunately, he was not so lucky. "You should at least send some of the knights instead."

Jaw tightening, Taichi simply continued to ignore him, trying not to be insulted by the insinuation that he didn't know what was at stake here. Like it didn't grate on him to send them to Digital World, if only for two minutes. The truth was that Taichi's ability to see the big picture had only grown in the years since he became leader for the group. But he couldn't leave the world alone to face the crossovers, and the hard facts were that the "knights", as Gennai had termed the three chosen later than the rest, did not and could not have the power that the original group had.

Ken had some of the potential, given his Crest and the fact that he should have been part of the group from the beginning. _That_ had been a rude awakening to learn that they _should not_ have been able to win that first time around. That it had truly been a miracle that the worlds had not been totally annihilated. A miracle they did not have any more at the moment. Even so, because he had not been there with Apocalymon, Ken was not what the original eight now were. They knew that simply because if he was, his reign as Digimon Kaiser would have been worse than it had been. Much worse. And though he had the potential, Taichi was reluctant to use trial by fire to see it realized, even if that was exactly how it had been for them.

"Everyone else is on standby to extract the family, if necessary," Taichi said, keeping his eyes on his friends and not even acknowledging Gennai was beside him.

The digital man sighed heavily and murmured, "What will it take for you to forgive me?" It was the first time that the man had actually voiced the question out loud.

Finally, Taichi looked at him, glaring. "You know the answer to that."

"Yes, I suppose I do."

The final item the four put on were ear pieces so that they could communicate back to Headquarters. They didn't work across worlds, but they were helpful during crossovers.

"The pathway has been acquired," Andromon stated from his corner of the room. Because Andromon could access any digital network, he could pretty much turn any computer anywhere into a gate terminal for the Digital World. So, whenever a crossover occurred, no matter where it was, the Digidestined could be there within minutes. The only downside was that they had to enter the Digital World from Headquarters and exit to the remote gate from there. Though it was for just a short amount of time, it still made Taichi tense that they had to go at all.

"I've found a safe place to send you," Koushiro stated. With just a nod of acknowledgement, Yamato and Mimi took position in front of the gate terminal and held out their Digivices, disappearing from the room with Tanemon and Tsunomon in their arms. Sora and Jyou were quick to follow, after Jyou grabbed his first aid bag, the very same one he'd had from the beginning, from a cupboard beneath the terminal. The moment they were gone, Koushiro said to Andromon, "Open the Singapore gate."

"Acknowledged."

"Everyone? This data is really weird," Ken said. "I don't think this a normal crossover."

"What is the news like?" Taichi asked Iori as he leaned over the youngest's chair. While they couldn't always understand the language used, the video from the reports were always helpful in figuring out what they were up against. The crossovers were always extensively covered, no matter where they happened. The rest of the world had taken to calling them "monster attacks". The Digidestined themselves had earned the title "Monster Hunters" (Daisuke had protested the complete unoriginality of the name), and there was much speculation about who they were and who they worked for. It was worth all their anonymity to not bother correcting anyone about anything. Especially after the first few months as the world accepted their role in things and just let them get to it.

"Ken's right. This is not a normal crossover. Look."

There, on the screen, just behind the reporter speaking to the camera was something that Taichi had just recently seen. "Is that…" he trailed off the unnecessary question because there really was no need to confirm.

Surrounded by an expanding cloud of darkness, smack dab in the middle of the streets of Singapore, stood one of the Towers of the Seven Deadly Sins.

* * *

_Author's Notes: Just so you know (and so I don't get too many questions about it), Hikari has been through a _very_ traumatic experience. She will be in a coma for quite some time to come. Just FYI._


	3. Beelzemon

Author's Notes: I'm not going to tell you how long I've had this sitting around because that will only make you angry. Anyway, it took so long to get out because I had two notebooks full of writing I was trying to type up so that I could just post everything I had all at once. Some of that was, admittedly, not next chapter stuff, but later scenes from my stories, but hey, two notebooks of story stuff since the last time I posted is not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

If it makes you feel any better, the next chapter is also totally complete as well. And will be posted soon-ish.

* * *

Steadying Mimi at his side, Yamato took the chance to glance around to see where exactly Andromon had dropped them into when he opened the gates. With the shelves full of books, it wasn't really that hard to figure out. He rolled his eyes as he thought how _wonderful_ it was that they should be dropped in the middle of a public library. Ignoring the people rising from chairs and peeking looks at them from around the stacks, Yamato quickly stepped out of the way, pulling Mimi along with him. He knew that Sora, Jyou, Yokomon, and Bukamon would be right behind them. Yamato paused only long enough to see them arrive, before he began walking towards the door. "Headquarters, this is Friendship. Do you copy?"

Miyako's voice crackled in his ear. "We copy, Friendship." The lavender hair girl had been put in charge of communications early on, so they were used to hearing her voice in their ear. There were other headsets in the Gate Room, but it was mostly Miyako who relayed all the information out to those on the field.

"We have arrived on location and are waiting for directions to the crossover." Some days, he couldn't quite believe how easily they all slipped into the speech pattern. The idea to use it had come actually from Chikara Hida, Iori's grandfather, and Piximon. It really came as no surprise that the kendo master and the relentless Digimon had become friends after Koushiro and Taichi had rescued the little guy, early in the days of The Search. Back before darkness had covered so much of the Digital World and Taichi had forbidden all but the two of them from going. The military-like speech had been hard to pick up, but it came almost naturally these days when they stepped outside of Headquarters.

By the time he finished talking, they had reached the door to the building. But he paused with his hand on the handle when Miyako spoke again. "Acknowledged, Friendship. One of the towers has appeared from the D World. This is your destination."

"What?" He heard Mimi and Sora's startled exclamation both from his earpiece and from behind him. Yamato threw the door open and raced into the street, scanning the skyline. However, too many skyscrapers were blocking the view, and he couldn't see the tower from where they were.

Jyou's unfazed reaction almost made him smile. "We're on our way," his voice said, and Yamato turned back to see the oldest Digidestined herding the two girls out of the library. He locked gazes with Yamato, and even through the dark glasses, Yamato could easily imagine the admonishment in his eyes when he gave a single, sharp shake of his head. He was right, of course. Yamato was basically in command right now, and he needed to keep it together. Without further prompting, Yamato fingered his Digivice hooked onto his pants, and it began to glow, as it had so many times before. The Crest of Friendship blazed blue on his chest, shining even through the black jacket. Tsunomon became Gabumon, who Warp Digivolved into MetalGarurumon without pause. Going aerial was the quickest way to spot the tower in the city.

The street exploded into activity and sound as the citizens seemed to realize what was happening. Enough crossovers had happened by this point that the Digidestined were probably recognizable just about everywhere, even if only by their disguises. The people's reactions increased exponentially once Yokomon Digivolved up to Birdramon, and Tanemon joined her as Lillymon, as the green Crest of Sincerity glowed on Mimi's chest. On the other hand, Bukamon only Digivolved up to Gomamon, considering neither of his higher forms could mobilize in the air.

As all this was happening, Headquarters had not been quiet in their ears. "It's not as bad as it could be," Gennai said. It was kind of a surprise to hear the Digital Man's voice rather than Miyako's. In fact, with a smirk, Yamato thought it was probably an even greater surprise that Taichi hadn't kicked Gennai out of the Gate Room yet. But Taichi was anything but impractical when it came to being the leader of the Digidestined. And no one knew more about the Demon Lords at this point than Gennai. "That's Gluttony Tower. You can tell by the slight yellow tone of the bricks." Yamato and Mimi quickly mounted onto MetalGarurumon as Lillymon launched into the air, and Sora, Jyou, and Gomamon climbed onto Birdramon's feet.

Mimi gripped him tightly around the waist. "What does that mean?" she asked after MetalGarurumon flew up, followed quickly by Birdramon.

"That means Beelzemon," Gennai answered. Which, really, meant little to Yamato. Having just heard the group name less than half an hour ago, this would be the first time he'd heard any of their individual names. But Gennai did say that it wasn't as bad as it could be. That must mean Beelzemon wasn't the strongest of the Demon Lords.

It didn't take very long for them to find the tower once they were high enough. Gluttony Tower stood in the center of a street. Dark purple-black clouds were billowing out from it and spreading. "Headquarters, we can see the tower," Jyou said.

"Hold on, everyone. Courage and Knowledge will be joining you shortly. Do not engage target until they arrive." This took Yamato aback, and he heard Mimi's small gasp of surprise from behind him. Neither Taichi nor Koushiro usually left Headquarters for crossovers, as both could better coordinate efforts from there. Most of the time Taichi sent them and the Knights out. Sometimes, it grated on Taichi's nerves to not be a part of the action, but they had never faced an enemy in a crossover that required the full might of the Digidestined.

But maybe that was just it. They'd never faced a Digimon as powerful as the Demon Lords before.

Yamato had MetalGarurumon pause in the air a few blocks away from the tower itself. The cloud was slowly creeping out, consuming more and more with each passing second. Yamato tried not to think about what was happening to the people and buildings inside it. With the destructive power of Digimon, they hadn't always been able to prevent casualties during the crossovers. They tried to arrive as quickly as they could, but unfortunately, they could only react. There wasn't a way yet to prevent the crossovers from happening or detect when and where they were going to happen before they actually had. As time had gone on, people had begun to recognize when it was happening and evacuated as quickly as they could while waiting for the "Monster Hunters" to get there. The numbers have decreased with each attack, but they all felt each one keenly. And while they knew it wasn't really their fault, it was hard not to feel guilty when protecting the worlds from Digimon was the Digidestined's responsibility.

And as the leader, no one had felt it more heavily than Taichi.

Yamato took a deep breath. There was nothing for it now. He had to focus on who they could save. "Love, stay in the air for now. I don't like the look of those clouds. Circle around the area, staying up high," Yamato said. He knew that it was harder for Birdramon than MetalGarurumon to just hover in the air. Sora acknowledged his command with a quick "got it". Then, Birdramon flew off, flying in wide circles around the tower.

"Sincerity, can you get Lillymon to scout out the situation?" Mimi acknowledge his request, and he felt her release his waist with one hand to wave her partner over and relay the information. It was really rather frustrating some times that, with all their different Digivolutions, earpieces for the Digimon were completely impractical. The small fairy-like Digimon swooped down closer to the tower.

Taichi's voice suddenly appeared in his ear. "Seriously, a library?" Yamato smirked in spite of the situation at Taichi's tone. "We're here. Be with you in a few minutes, Friendship."

"No sign of Beelzemon yet," Yamato relayed back. Not that he would ever admit it out loud, but Yamato relaxed just slightly in relief that Taichi was here now to take back the reins of command. "Or any other Digimon for that matter."

Jyou interrupted. "Besides a few news crews, the streets seem pretty empty around the clouds." Yamato was relieved. The citizens must have evacuated quickly. At that moment, Lillymon flew back and shook her head at Yamato. She hadn't seen any sign of Beelzemon or any other Digimon.

"Look out!" Sora yelled and MetalGarurumon suddenly banked to the right as a beam of energy shot through the air where they had hovered. Caught unawares, Mimi's grip slipped from around his waist, and she fell off MetalGarurumon's back. Her screams tore threw the air as she plummeted towards the earth. Fear and horror gripped Yamato's heart as he watched, wide-eyed, his friend falling.

Lillymon raced after her partner, slamming into her around the waist. Everyone heard her giant exhale of air, but Lillymon had saved her and that was what was the important thing. They had never had such as close call like that before. Bumps, scrapes, and bruises were only to be expected. Not to mention the one time Daisuke had managed to break his arm, but never anything like this. Yamato looked down to see a giant motorcycle come flying out of the cloud, roaring its engine, and come slamming down onto the street.

It was rather unnecessary what Gennai said next. "That's him. That's Beelzemon." Yamato thought that was obvious.

"He's headed for one of the news crews!" Iori's alarmed voice came just seconds before WarGreymon's Terra Force ripped through the sky towards the motorcycle.

But Beelzemon simply leapt up from his bike and batted the attack away, swatting it with no more effort than Yamato would a fly. Apparently, Gennai was _not_ joking about the Demon Lords' power. The orange energy ball slammed into one of the buildings in a giant explosion. The Demon Lord laughed heartily. "Hello, Digidestined! Have you come to play? Lucemon will be so happy you came to see me." Yamato definitely did not like the sound of that laugh. It was far too confident.

Clearly, neither did Taichi. "Friendship, join Knowledge and me in holding him off. Responsibility, check to make sure Sincerity is alright. Love, get those news crews out of here." Taichi gave his orders with the efficiency and confidence he'd fully developed these past few years. And without question, they all followed them.

MetalGarurumon dropped Yamato off on the nearest rooftop, just a street over from where he could see Mimi and Lillymon on top of another building. His partner flew off to where WarGreymon and MegaKabuterimon were fighting Beelzemon. Yamato didn't see Taichi and Koushiro on either of their backs, so presumably, they had been dropped off somewhere safe as well. A few seconds later, he watched Birdramon drop off Jyou and Gomamon on the roof by Mimi before flying away again.

"This is Responsibility. Sincerity had the wind knocked from her, but she's alright."

Yamato breathed a sigh of relief that was very short lived. Beelzemon, feral grin on his face, appeared above the skyline a couple of streets over. Spinning in midair, he kicked away the Horn Buster MegaKabuterimon had just shot at him. Too late, Yamato realized where the attack was now headed. It slammed into the rooftop where he stood. He flung his arms up to cover his face but the force from the explosion knocked him backwards off his feet. Any second, he expected to slam into the rooftop.

However, he soon realized there was nothing beneath him but air.

* * *

The moment Taichi gave his orders, Sora had Birdramon flying over to where Lillymon had taken Mimi. It pained her to see her friend clutching at her chest, like she couldn't breath. Lillymon stood protectively over her with a hand on her shoulder and a worried expression on her face. Knowing there was nothing else she could do for her friends, Birdramon took off again as soon as Jyou and Gomamon hopped off.

It had terrified her, seeing Mimi falling like that.

But she had her orders and directed Birdramon towards the nearest reporters. Unfortunately, it was also the street Beelzemon was on. Sora jumped down just as Beelzemon ran up the side of a building to slam into WarGreymon, crushing him into the building on the other side of the street. Sora tried to ignore the battle and the warm red Crest of Love that appeared on her chest as Birdramon Digivolved into Garudamon.

With a sudden jolt, Sora realized she wasn't even sure what language they spoke here in Singapore. She was fairly sure it was some form of Chinese, but she wasn't positive. Not that the knowledge would help her any, as Sora didn't know Chinese anyway. Or any other language for that matter. As a digital denizen, only Gennai was well versed in the languages of the world. Well, any language that had been digitally recorded.

It didn't really matter. The Digidestined had a fall back plan for this kind of situation: use English. They'd discovered that a lot of people, especially professionals, had at least a very rudimentary knowledge of English. Not unlike the Digidestined themselves. Most people could understand the very simplest phrases, and it helped to keep the Digidestined anonymous. It wouldn't do for them to go around speaking their native language and narrowing the search for anyone looking for the "Monster Hunters". "Go," she said to the reporters, aware of the camera on her. "Leave." Sora simply couldn't understand why they hadn't left already when things got dangerous. There was a need to report the crossovers; it helped the people know when and where they were and helped the Digidestined in the initial phases. But there was no need to stick around for so long and risk their lives.

Her gaze returned to the scene above. WarGreymon attacked him with Metal Claw, but Beelzemon gripped his claws in his hands and spun him around. When he left go, WarGreymon went flying right into MetalGarurumon, sending both of them through a building. Beelzemon, a predatory and almost fanatic grin still on his face, leapt up above the skyline, just as MegaKabuterimon shot off his Horn Buster at him. Spinning in mid-air, Beelzemon kicked the attack away. It must have gone a street or two over before it exploded into something.

Quite suddenly, Mimi was screaming. "Lillymon, save him!"

"Sincerity, what is it?"

"Yamato was on that roof!" Mimi, out of all of them, had the hardest time taking to the code names. She tended to drop them completely when she panicked.

Ice trailed down her spine even as Sora asked, "Which roof?" She was terribly afraid that she already knew the answer to that question.

Jyou's quiet reply was Sora's fears all realized. "The one Beelzemon kicked the Horn Buster into." Without another second's delay, Sora was on the move. As far as she was concerned, at the moment, if the reporters wanted to risk their lives than that was their own prerogative.

Cupping her hands up to her mouth, Sora called out to her partner. "Garudamon!" Once she had her attention, she signaled that she wanted up. Garudamon bent so that Sora could climb onto her hand. "We've got to go where the Horn Buster landed." Garudamon took off as MetalGarurumon and WarGreymon engaged Beelzemon again. Sora remembered seeing the blond on the street over when she dropped off Jyou and Gomamon.

"Sincerity, Responsibility, is he okay?" Koushiro asked.

There was a moment's pause before Mimi answered. "I...I don't know." The words were very quietly spoken, and anyone could hear the fright in the girl's voice. "Lillymon is with him down on the street, but I can't tell from up here."

Sora reached the street just as Taichi spoke her code name. Mimi, Jyou, and Gomamon stood on the edge of the roof, all looking down to the street below. She looked down as Garudamon descended and saw Yamato lying in the street, with Lillymon at his side. Debris, presumably from the Horn Buster hitting the roof, lay all around them. "I see them. Just a minute." When they landed again, Sora quickly hopped down from her partner to check on Yamato.

Lillymon looked up when she arrived. "I caught him in time, but I think I did something to his arm when I did," she said.

Sora grimaced. There was definitely something wrong with his right shoulder. She was no expert, but Sora thought it might be dislocated. There were cuts and scrapes all over his body, though his face seemed mostly clear. She shook his left shoulder a few times, calling his name quietly but there was no response. "He's unconscious but breathing." When she said no more than that, Sora knew everyone would be able to read between the lines. Yamato was in bad shape, but he was _alive_.

Koushiro's voice came over the earpiece. "Love, Beelzemon is heading in your direction. Our Digimon are in pursuit." She looked up to see the Demon Lord standing on the edge of a rooftop, looking down at them, still with that grin on his face. WarGreymon, MetalGarurumon, and MegaKabuterimon hung in the air around him, almost hesitantly. Sora could imagine they would be hesitant to attack now with what happened to Yamato. Jyou and Mimi were, after all, on the roof almost directly across from him, too.

She couldn't stand it. First, Mimi and now Yamato—none of them had ever had it this bad before. No crossover had been like this. And she couldn't stand to see her friends, these people she loved so much, hurt like this. There had to be something more that she could do.

The Crest of Love burned on her chest, brighter and warmer than it ever had previously. Garudamon became to glow brightly before bursting into brilliant gold flames. In her place, a giant four-winged bird Digimon shot into the air. Her feathers were all gold except for the rainbow colored ones sticking out from her gold-plated head and spiking down her back. Familiar golden rings wrapped around her ankles and mixed among her golden tail feathers was what looked like red diamond shaped ropes. "That's Hououmon," boomed MegaKabuterimon's voice.

"Garudamon Digivolved?" Sora said. The wonder in her voice was plain for anyone to hear. She had only seen Gabumon and Agumon Warp Digivolve to their Mega forms, so she had assumed that it would be the same for the rest of them. That they would only be able to Digivolve to Mega from their Rookie forms. She hadn't expected them to be able to Digivolve directing from Ultimate.

"Well, Lucemon is not going to be happy about this. Or maybe he will. The strangest things amuse him, you know." Beelzemon laughed. WarGreymon, MetalGarurumon, and Hououmon formed a triangle around him as he jumped into the air. "By the way, Taichi Yagami, did you enjoy Lucemon's gift? Lilithmon wanted to play with it a bit more, but Lucemon insisted. He'd gotten what he wanted from it. After all, the other one was already...well, you know." There was a smugness to Beelzemon's look as he looked past the Digimon around him, presumably towards wherever Taichi was standing.

Sora assumed that this 'gift" was Hikari, but that still didn't stop her shock by the fierceness of Taichi's growl. He actually _growled_. Sora hadn't even known he was close enough to hear what Beelzemon had said, despite how loud the Demon Lord spoke. "Get him," Taichi yelled, loud enough to make Sora wince. There was almost a reckless anger to his tone that stunned her. It had been a very long time since Taichi had lost control. And since Beelzemon hadn't really told them much beyond what they already knew and it had been a very long time since Taichi had lost his cool against some Digimon's taunts, it led Sora to one conclusion.

Taichi was hiding something from them.

She didn't know how they had heard him, but at the same time, all three Mega Digimon attacked. "Terra Force!" WarGreymon gathered the large compressed energy between his palms and flung it at Beelzemon. In contrast to the overpowering heat of his friend's attack, MetalGarurumon opened his mouth and unleashed his sub-zero Metal Wolf Claw. Hououmon flapped her golden wings. "Star-Light Explosion!" Golden rain joined her fellow Digimons' attacks. All three hit Beelzemon at the same time. Sora waited with baited breath to see if that had done it.

The air cleared and Beelzemon remained. He hovered in mid-air, alive but not unscathed. Yet, he was still laughing. "Sorry, but it seems like playtime is over. See you next time, Digidestined." With that, Beelzemon and his tower faded away, taking the purple black clouds with them and leaving ruin behind.

* * *

_Author's Notes: So, I'm not gonna lie. Garudamon was not actually supposed to Digivolve yet. I had actually planned on Mimi being first. But then, all the sudden, Yamato got blown off a roof and Sora took offense to that. What can you do? And, yeah, the Demon Lords are tough. This is the sort of story where they will each have their own arc and perhaps lackeys. I did warn you that you are in for the long haul._


	4. Is It Ever Enough?

Author's Notes: Wow. I didn't expect you guys to be that angry with me. Well, I guess I hope you like this chapter. Jyou and Koushiro coming your way!

* * *

There were many ways the day could have gone better.

As soon as Beelzemon left, Taichi had instructed all of them to gather where Yamato was. Hououmon had come to pick them up, while MegaKabuterimon went for Taichi and Koushiro. Since they weren't that far away, they arrived only a few seconds after him and Mimi. MetalGarurumon was standing at his partner's head when they touched down. Taichi actually reached his friend first, staring down at Yamato's unconscious form; his face was pale and grim. Not since the Dark Masters had the Digidestined been so in danger. And, at the time, those experiences hadn't felt quite like this. Perhaps it was because they had been children, unable to quite grasp the fact that their lives were on the line. Perhaps it was because of everything that had led to this that had made them more aware of their own vulnerability.

Eleven! Takeru and Hikari had been all of _eleven years old_ when they were kidnapped. It made Jyou sick just thinking about the three long years the two had been in the Demon Lords' hands. _Tortured_, if Koushiro's description was to be believed. And if Hikari had gone through it, it wasn't that far of a stretch to imagine Takeru had as well.

Without being prompted, Jyou slipped easily into his role of battlefield medic. Even a few years ago, he'd been hesitant to say that being a doctor was really the path he wanted to take, despite both of his parents and one of his older brothers being ones. But then the kids were taken, Gennai revealed the truth, and as they began to build Headquarters, Jyou knew this was what their leader needed him to be. So, he started spending all his spare moments studying and being in the Infirmary absorbing anything and everything his parents and brother had to teach him.

Kneeling next to Yamato, he started by taking his friend's pulse. "I think his arm is dislocated," Sora said quietly. Jyou nodded absently, keeping his eye on his watch as he counted. Satisfied that the blond's pulse was normal and his breathing even, he turned his attention to the shoulder. He had to agree with Sora's assessment.

Jyou looked up, finding the Digimon he was looking for. All of their partners were making a ring around the teens. The streets were still empty, but that could change at any time. Hopefully, the Digimons' presence would discourage any curious onlookers. "Lillymon, did he hit his head on anything?"

The flower Digimon shook her head. "He was falling. I caught him by the arm before he hit the ground and then laid him down here. He was unconscious by the time I caught him. Maybe during the explosion something happened?"

Jyou nodded again, thinking that was possible. But he didn't want to move him unless he was sure he couldn't make anything worse. "Headquarters, patch me through to the Infirmary," Jyou instructed.

"Got it."

His mother's voice crackled in his ear, a new comforting presence. "What is it, son?" In precise, succinct words, Jyou described all his observations about Yamato's condition. "I understand your worry. I'll send you a stretcher to bring him in."

"Copy that." Taichi then told Andromon to find the nearest possible gate to where they were.

"It's the building to the west," Miyako informed them as soon as Andromon located one. A few tense seconds later, her voice came over the radio again. "Blue Knight and Kindness have left with the stretcher. They'll be with you in less than a minute."

A groan caught all their attention as Yamato shifted slightly. Jyou breathed a sigh of relief. Yamato's unconsciousness had been what worried him the most. Taichi instantly leaned over his best friend. "Yamato? Are you alright? How do you feel?"

"Like I just got blown up and flung off the top of a building," Yamato bit back. "How do you think I feel, idiot?" A relieved smile filled Taichi's face at his friend's sarcasm. Jyou couldn't fight a smile of his own at the familiar tone of voice. If Yamato was making sarcastic comments than he couldn't be too badly off. "MetalGarurumon?"

His partner nudged his head lightly with his nose. "I am here, friend."

Yamato tried to raise his arms to his partner, but he stopped instantly and grabbed his dislocated arm with his other hand with a pained hiss. "Okay. Ow. That hurts. What happened?"

"I think you're arm is dislocated," Jyou answered at the same time as MetalGarurumon said, "Beelzemon went back to the Digital World."

Before anymore could be said, the door to the building next to them opened, and Flamedramon and Stingmon came out with Daisuke and Ken right behind them carrying a stretcher. Yamato groaned and covered his eyes with his uninjured arm. "Oh, tell me you didn't."

"We did, and you're getting on it, no arguments," Jyou informed him. With little more fuss or difficulty, as they all had basic training (the Doctors Kido had insisted), Yamato was placed on the stretcher and hauled back into the building the two boys had come from to gate back to Headquarters. The Digimon all De-Digivolved back to their In-Training forms (mostly for practical reasons as half wouldn't fit through the door or in the Gate Room).

Back in the Gate Room, Taichi gave one last tired order. "Jyou, you're with me. Everyone else, go get cleaned up. Dinner should be ready soon."

The Digidestined and their Digimon filed out of the room. Taichi stopped Mimi by gripping her arm. "What is it?" she asked.

But Taichi's eyes were on the small green Digimon in her arms. "Tanemon, thank you. Thank you for being on time." The sheer amount of gratitude in Taichi's voice washed over the room in a wave. They were all aware of the special place Taichi and Yamato held for each other. Theirs was a deep friendship forged and purified. Truly, only the two older brothers could understand each other in a way that no one else could.

And Jyou knew that Tanemon understood all this as well, as she didn't brush off his gratitude but received it with sincerity. "You're very welcome," she piped, smiling at Taichi.

Taichi turned to Mimi. "I want you to come to the Infirmary, too. Just to make sure everything is okay."

The bright girl nodded. "I'll come after I get cleaned up. You know, give Dr. Kido a chance to look at Yamato first."

"All right," Taichi agreed. "But if you don't come, I will find you and drag you back if I have to," he teased, a smile on his face again. Jyou smiled himself to see it. Though he understood the necessity of his seriousness in battle, it was always nice to see that carefree grin that almost defined Taichi. One that got rarer and rarer the more time past since The Disappearance.

Mimi's lips split into a smile of her own. "Oh, I don't doubt that." Once she left, he and Taichi carried Yamato in the the Infirmary.

His mother quickly pronounced Yamato's arm dislocated and had Taichi hold his friend as she quickly put it back in place. This promptly caused Yamato to cry out in pain and curse the Demon Lords. Mizuki ignored his mutterings and fixed his arm into a sling. Then, she began a rapid fire set of questions as she examined him which Yamato sullenly answered.

Jyou tuned them out when he got his first look at Hikari. Gatomon was curled up on the pillow near her head, gazing unblinking at her partner. Hikari's mother, Yuuko, sat at the bedside, holding her daughter's limp hand in her own.

And Hikari looked so small, hardly any bigger than when she'd been eleven. Her brown hair laid limply around her head, and the paleness of her skin nearly matched the white on her hospital gown. Black and purple bruises colored her arms and what he could see of her neck and collar. Jyou shuddered to think what the rest of her body looked like. His mother had put an oxygen mask over the lower part of her face. With an IV drip connected to her bony hand, his only comfort was the steady beat of the heart monitor at her bedside.

"How is she?"

Jyou jumped at the voice, having not heard Yamato approach. His arm was in a sling, and there was a bandage over the larger gash that had run down the length of his left forearm. None of his other scrapes had been really bad enough to bandage after they were cleaned. Or rather, Yamato had probably insisted on the least amount of bandages necessary. Otherwise, he looked fine, which brought no small amount of relief.

Mizuki answered. "My first assessment seems to be holding out so far. She's dehydrated and severely underweight. There are contusions and lacerations all over her body, but none are infected and should heal with proper care. There seems to be no evidence of any internal injuries. But I think this might be more than just normal unconsciousness. I believe Hikari is in a coma." A chill ran down Jyou's spine. There were many different kinds of comas, but Jyou was well aware of the ones from which some never woke up. Yuuko choked out a sob, and Taichi moved to place a hand on her shoulder. Mizuki continued, "I can't be sure of everything. We're well equipped here, but the Infirmary is not a hospital. In my opinion, I think her coma is more mental than physical. Whatever happened to her must have been terrible enough that her mind shut down to protect her." She looked at Taichi. "I'd like to take her down to Tokyo for a few days to run further tests."

And wasn't that just sad. That his mother, a fully-trained, highly qualified doctor, looked to a _seventeen_ year old boy for permission before even asking Yuuko. But Taichi ran Headquarters (and ran it well), and they all knew it, even their parents. She didn't even have to check herself; the instinct to turn to Taichi first was just that strong, and Jyou wasn't even sure when that instinct formed for the adults. Then again, he wasn't sure when exactly it formed for them either, but Jyou would guess it was probably sometime during Etemon, even if it hadn't been acknowledged out loud until Myotismon's Castle.

Perhaps the most telling bit was that Taichi didn't even blink, didn't ask his mother, didn't so much as twitch at the description of his sister's injuries. He only asked one question. "Will you be able to bring her back?" And Jyou understood that. Though some of their parents left Headquarters almost everyday to commute to work, they all felt better behind its safe walls. To have Hikari hospitalized outside for an unknown amount of recovery time would put them all on edge.

Mizuki gave a shake of her head. "I don't actually know. If her condition is worse than I believe, it may be a possibility."

"But it will help her, right," Taichi asked. Mizuki nodded. "Then do whatever it takes to heal my sister."

Mizuki nodded again, eyes steely. "I'll arrange for transportation. We'll leave tomorrow morning. Ideally, I would like to bring her back and take care of her here." She moved over to the small desk set aside for the doctors down here. Both his parents had a bigger office upstairs above the Classroom and Conference Room along with the other adults. All the records, school, medical, or otherwise, were kept up there.

Jyou followed her. "Where's Shin?"

"He went to pick Susumu from the station. We called him about Hikari, and he got on the first train out."

Jyou nodded in acknowledgement, biting his lip. Lowering his voice, he asked uncertainly, "Mom, is Hikari really going to be okay?"

"I haven't found any signs of head trauma, which lead me to my conclusion. But, Jyou." She looked him squarely in the eyes. "Hikari was kidnapped and held against her will for three years. And there is every indication that those years were not pleasant. She has been abused, both body and mind. Some people never recover from that." She kept her voice quiet so that only Jyou could hear her, but her tone was still straightforward and unrelenting. His mother had never sugar coated anything for him, and it wasn't like he expected her to start doing so now. "On the other hand, some people overcome the adversity they encounter and come out stronger than before. So, really, it all depends on Hikari's strength."

And Jyou remembered. How young she had been, how young they _all_ had been (not that they were old no by any means, he was the oldest at all of eighteen years old), sure in the knowledge that none of them had been chosen by accident, that none of them would have been chosen if they weren't strong enough. "She'll get through it, you'll see," Jyou said, eyes not on Hikari herself, but those around her. They would help her, just as they would help Takeru when they got him back. To be a Digidestined meant you never had to face anything alone.

* * *

Koushiro and Motimon cleaned up quickly and left the House again. They did not head across the way to the Cafetorium and dinner but back to the Business Quarter in search of Gennai. The redhead didn't resent the digital man quite as much as Yamato and Taichi did. It was true that, had Gennai told them the truth about what had really happened to them after the battle with Apocalymon, Takeru and Hikari might have never been kidnapped. Then again, knowing everything that he did, Koushiro had already concluded that there might just have been nothing they could have done to stop it.

Takeru and Hikari had never been the types to sit on the sidelines. At the time, the three Knights just hadn't been enough to fight the darkness that had held Ken, and there had been no one else. Yes, Gennai should have told them what had happened to them. He should not have waited until a year after the Disappearance, when it had become painfully obvious to everyone that Takeru and HIkari could not be saved. Koushiro had figured that out after two weeks, but he wouldn't have said it out loud. Not with Taichi and Yamato around. But truthfully, too many events lead up to the actual kidnapping. If the Digital World hadn't used them. If Ken had been with them from the beginning. If he hadn't become Emperor. If their power hadn't been suppressed by the Dark Towers. If Angemon hadn't...Koushiro sighed as he walked into the Gate Room. Unfortunately, only Andromon remained.

"Andromon, do you know where Gennai went?" Koushiro asked.

"Sixteen point seven minutes ago he departed after Taichi and Jyou took Yamato to the Infirmary. He did not disclose his destination." Two years of constant interaction with them had done absolutely nothing to help Andromon stop his more robotic speech.

"Can you find him?"

"Searching...target located. Gennai is in The Shrine. Would you like me to send a message?"

"No, thank you, Andromon. I'll go to him."

"Why are you looking for Gennai?" Motimon asked as they left the Business Quarter again.

"Someone has to tell him about Garudamon's Digivolution," he answered, even if that wasn't really the truth. Gennai, after all, had been in the Gate Room during the crossover and was probably aware of it. There was something else on his mind. Something he was almost afraid to speak out loud, something that had been forming since he saw Taichi return with Hikari in his arms, building with all the little observations he'd made since then.

The Shrine was a small lone building nestled in a nook at the back of Headquarters between the Residential Block and the Business Quarter. Koushiro wasn't even sure who exactly called it that first, though it was a rather apt description. He slid open the door and stepped in, Motimon on his heels. Two dog beds rested on either side of the door, one for each Gatomon and Elecmon. Both Digimon lived in the The Shrine, though for different reasons. Though, with Hikari back, it was likely that Gatomon would not stay here any longer.

Standing before the central focus of The Shrine with his arms folded across his chest was the object of Koushiro's search. He came to stand next to him, eyes on what Gennai was gazing at. On a short flat pedestal, gently encompassed by a blue blanket, sat a gold and white striped Digi-Egg. As far as they knew, currently the very last Digi-Egg in existence. File Island had been among the first areas covered in darkness. They had barely managed to save Elecmon from Primary Village, though he'd heard that it nearly killed him (and Mimi) to leave all those eggs behind. Koushiro had been with Jyou and Taichi at the time getting Centarumon.

The Digi-Egg hadn't so much as stirred in the three years they'd been taking care of it. According to Elecmon, this was a very unusually long amount of time for a Digimon to remain an egg. Nothing he did, despite his long experience, had hatched it. But this was not exactly a revelation to them. Everyone knew what he was waiting for. Or rather, who.

Koushiro had been told that ten seconds had been about the difference.

"Garudamon Digivolved into Hououmon, and it still wasn't enough to defeat Beelzemon," Koushiro said. It bothered him that even that hadn't been enough. Three Megas versus one Demon Lord...they had damaged him but he remained undefeated. Mimi and Yamato had both almost _died_. And Gennai had said he was on the lower end of the hierarchy.

"No, this is a good thing," Gennai said. The Digital Man looked more heartened then Koushiro had seen in years. He knew Gennai felt terrible about the kids' disappearance, and the brothers' livid and blatant resentment did not really help matters. "Hououmon may just be exactly who we need while Takeru is still in their hands, and Hikari is recovering."

"What do you mean?" It didn't take a genius to figure out that the targeting of the two kids meant that they were needed to defeat the Demon Lords. Gennai's words in the Conference Room had only reaffirmed that to Koushiro, not pointed it out. He didn't see how, Hououmon, specifically, would help, Mega Digimon though she was (WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon were, too, after all).

To his surprise, Motimon answered first. "Oh, I see," the little pink Digimon, who had been the source of so much information back in the day (so maybe, it wasn't much of a surprise at all to hear him answer), said. "Hououmon is a Holy Beast Digimon."

Gennai nodded in agreement, but Koushiro was lost (a feeling he _did not_ like) as to what that exactly had to do with anything. Thankfully, Gennai began to explain without him asking. "While it is true that the Angel Digimon are the pinnacle of Holy Digimon, thus making them the ultimate counterpart to any Demon Digimon, they are not the only Holy Digimon. Hououmon is part of what we call the Holy Beasts."

"Did you see the gold rings around the ankles?" Motimon asked.

Koushiro thought back to the battle, placing his hand on his chin, as he did so. Though he and Taichi had been further away from the battle than the others, their view had not been obstructed by any of the buildings. And Hououmon was still at least as big as Garudamon had been. "Yeah, they kind of reminded me of Gatomon's tail ring," he said as he saw the bird Digimon in his mind's eye.

"They would as they are essentially the same thing," Gennai explained. "They're called Holy Rings. You could say that they're the mark of a Holy Digimon, as all of them have them."

"So that would mean Gatomon…"

"Is also a Holy Beast," Gennai finished. "As is her previous form, Salamon. It is probable that when Myotismon found her that he recognized this. That he wanted to turn her, regardless of whether he was aware of her destiny as Hikari's partner. There's nothing quite as dangerous as a Fallen Angel Digimon. Nearly half the Great Demon Lords are." Silence fell for a while. "Anyway, did you notice when the attacks were combined with Hououmon's, it actually affected Beelzemon before the crossover ended?"

"Yes." Beelzemon hadn't been defeated, but he also hadn't come out unscathed from that last attack either, like he had all the others they had thrown at him.

"I think that's what will help us win. Alone WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon might not be able to defeat them, but when their power is combined with a Holy Digimon, it could be enough. And once the rest of your partners reach their Mega level as well, the power will be that much more exponentially great."

Once he thought about it, he realized that was how they had beaten many of their ultimate foes in their early days. Devimon...Myotismon...Machinedramon...Piedmon...all had only been beaten when Holy power had been added, whether from the Digimon or from Takeru and Hikari themselves.

Gennai continued, "I had hoped that her final form would be Hououmon, but no Digimon's Digivolution is absolute. Not even your own partners." Koushiro had to look no further back than Taichi and SkullGreymon to know what he said was true. Digivolutions were hardly ever a set line. There were many variables that determined which way a Digimon would go. "It gives me hope. Something of which I have not felt for quite some time now."

Koushiro stepped forward and placed his hand on the Digi-Egg. It was warm beneath his fingers, but still it did not so much as twitch at his touch. "Tell me the truth, Gennai. What are the chances that we can save Takeru?" He'd seen Taichi's reaction to Beelzemon's taunts. Koushiro hadn't seen him snap like that since Hikari was sick when they were fighting Machinedramon. And Koushiro was anything but stupid. Something was bothering Taichi and for some reason, he was keeping it to himself.

"You saved Ken, didn't you? He was once likewise possessed by the darkness." Koushiro frowned at that answer. Gennai had basically dodged his question.

So, he pressed him again. "I can't help but think this is different." He narrowed his eyes at the man in warning that he was not to be taken lightly.

Gennai chuckled. "The Digital World made no mistake when it choose you, Koushiro. You are right, of course. From what you said before, it seems that Takeru may be possessed by Lucemon himself."

Koushiro's eyebrows shot up. He didn't know that Digimon could possess a human like that. "He can do that?"

"In the Digital World, or it's mirror counterpart, the Dark World, you become as much data as anything else there. The manipulation or corruption of data can be accomplished."

"But processes can be reversed, right?"

Gennai never looked more grave than when he spoke his next words. "I'm worried more about what may have already happened. Koushiro, it may be that two entities cannot occupy the same space."

Koushiro's blood ran cold. "What?" Motimon asked sharply. Koushiro was too shocked to speak. Gennai simply could not be implying what he thought he was. There was no way that he would accept that possibility.

Gennai nodded solemnly, eyes straight on Koushiro, serious and unwavering. And Koushiro knew that he was implying just what he thought.. "The question is perhaps not 'can we save him' but rather 'what will be left when we do.'"

* * *

_Author's Notes: ...and that's all I have to say to that. Next chapter will feature one of my favorite characters to write, Mimi._


End file.
